Recently I have been in a music funk. I find myself playing many of the same songs, trying to find more, but then I just obsess over a couple of songs a week, play them on repeat for days, then throw them out to do the same with a couple more. Part of me realized I should do something with the songs I am obsessed with and will never ever throw out. So I made them into a playlist, and I thought I’d share ten of these songs from the playlist that are perfect to me. It is hard for me to find a perfect song. Not that I am some divine curator, knowing all the interworkings of music and my opinion is right or anything, but these songs make my ears yearn for the sound, the lyrics– the feeling the music brings – it’s ethereal. Nonetheless, here are some songs in my “perfection to me” playlist.
1. Velvet Mood by Alice Phoebe Lou
“Velvet Mood” is a song that suits you so well for a walk on a rainy day. It’s not sad, and it’s not a poppy kind of happiness. Its calmness in the bliss. Her voice stood out to me the first time I heard this song. The crisp sound of the range she has and goes through in this song is only satisfying if the song is played at nearly full blast. The song is short and sweet– it makes me want more. That’s why it’s perfect; it evokes a feeling of calmness and protection. Her soothing voice makes me feel like I am in a warm blanket, and that is all I need to claim it in my perfection playlist.
2. Once More to See You by Mitski
Mitski is known for her lyrics and songwriting skills, and she does not disappoint in this song or ever really. This song is perfect because of the lyrics. Mitski has such a way of telling a story in metaphors that really hits you in your heart. Whether the song is about her or not or whether the song is relatable to listeners or not, she still has this power to affect you. Of course, there are many interpretations of this song on the internet. However, I think besides the detailed interpretations of the story in the song, there is still an overall consensus that the song talks about love ultimately leaving us. And because love is not eternal, loneliness follows in knowing that. It’s perfect. If you listen to this song with earbuds at an unreasonably high volume in the beginning, you will hear her sigh, which encapsulates the meaning even more– the loneliness, the longing for love.
3. God Turn Me Into a Flower by Weyes Blood
Where do I begin? When I first heard this song, I was walking on a rainy weekend day, the campus was empty, and it was perfect. Natalie Mering’s writing and vocals kill in this song, and the last few minutes let all of her work in the first half of the song linger in the best way. Without going too in-depth, the song explores themes of wanting to be seen and wanting to put a specific perception of yourself across for the world to see. But then, upon looking in the mirror, she says, “It’s always just been you,” not who you were trying to be. Maybe it was you this whole time? Who knows? Perfect.
Fast clips of trauma flashing through my mind while sitting as a passenger in the car staring out the window and wanting to suppress all the pain and disassociate– is what this song feels like for me. The lyrics make me reflect and possibly will make you reflect. This song has so many themes and stories embedded in it, which is very typical for Del Rey to do, and that’s why I love her music. You can listen to it repeatedly, and each time, it’s different. Her voice is ethereal in this, and the melancholic instrumentation with the crescendo to her saying, “I just ride,” and holding on to that note is the best.Â
5. Savior Complex by Phoebe Bridgers
Something about this song has past memories attached to it so heavily. Not bad memories but just memories of when I first listened to it and where I was, what I was doing that month, etc. I don’t necessarily relate to the lyrics, but the sounds and the instrumental solos in the song give it sort of a nostalgic feel to the song, and it feels perfect.
6. Hard Feelings/Loveless by Lorde
First off, Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor, I love you. I almost want to leave it at that and say nothing else, but I’ll dive into the perfection of this song. First of all, Lorde wrote this song at 19… let that sink in. Songs that are split in two are not always executed well, but this one definitely is. The whole album is leading up to this point. In “Hard Feelings,” Lorde looks back at her relationship, the good, the bad, and the ugly while exploring this phase of being alone now. The transition from “Hard Feelings” to “Loveless” is perfection. In Loveless, Lorde briefly and repeatedly calls her old flame out, and in laymen’s terms, lets them know they’ll regret breaking her heart. After all, our generation, as she says, is L-O-V-E-L-E-S-S.
7. Posing for Cars Japanese Breakfast
Michelle Zauner’s guitar solo in “Posing for Cars” is what makes the song perfect. I have read Reddit posts about the acoustic guitar in the first half of the song in a way communicating to the electric guitar in the end, and in my own opinion, I would believe that. I think with most music nowadays leaning to more electronic sounds and the trendy use of a synthesizer for pop music, real instruments are forgotten about, at least speaking for myself. “Posing for Cars” is a nice break from all the singing and all the sound almost. It is just your ears and the guitar for most of the song, and it is perfect.
8. Kind Of (Recorded at Electric Lady Studios) by Faye Webster
Faye Webster’s voice is hard to come by in most music. She has beautiful, rich-sounding vocals, which show so well in her live recording at Electric Lady Studios. I think the instruments in this song, paired with Webster’s voice, make the song so perfect. The best way to describe the song is simply a feel-good vibe on a sunny day.
Mitski is not married, of course, and I would say this song is about more than marriage– but that is just the surface of the song. Underneath marriage, Mitski describes the role of a wife– the complexity of it in the patriarchal society. The lyrics cut deep like a knife into the reality they face listening to it as a woman. It makes a woman question: is this my fate? Is this my purpose? As she says in the song, “But if I am not yours, what am I?” Besides the lyrics, Mitski’s isolated voice in this with the stand-alone piano keys ebbs and flows, with the two meeting in the middle but staying separate as they both perform during the song. The perfection of the song is the thoughts it evokes listening to it– the feelings and past that the sound.
10. Paris Texas by Lana Del Rey
“Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd” is a relatively new album, so this song is still very fresh for me, but the first time I heard it, I knew it was perfect. I have seen tweets comparing the sound to the movie “Coraline”; that is exactly what I thought when I first listened to it. The piano, accompanied by Del Rey’s lyrics, fit so well together. I think the lyrics put the song over the threshold of perfection for me. To briefly explain, Del Rey is traveling and leaving what was once home to find and discover this new version of what home is to her– Venice, California. This is just the basis of the song. The lyrics go deeper than that in the workings of how they relate to Del Rey’s life, and I think that is what makes it so special. Del Rey has shared so much with us in her music, which makes it special, almost as if her vulnerability is a gift– especially because we have not proven ourselves worthy of consuming her life. Her music is how she expresses herself and explains herself to the world, and she does it well.
These are just a few, and of course, not in a particular order. I think all of these songs are perfect in their own right. Some are incomparable because they are all so different. There are more songs besides this, but the list will go on and on. So, for now, here is a link to the playlist. Expect shifts and updates; my mind, perception, and life experiences are constantly changing, as will the music. It affects my moods and the way I see the world around me, and like me, the songs will change and take new forms and possibly even to you as well. Enjoy.